Weddings

Information regarding customs and traditions about the wedding service.

Marriage in the Catholic Church, also called matrimony, is a “covenant by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life and which is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring. [It] has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament between the baptised.”.[1] Matrimony, from the Latin mater, “mother,” and monium, “-mony” (status) is the creation of the status of mother.[2] In the Roman Rite, it is ordinarily celebrated in a Nuptial Mass.

On the exact definition of each of these steps hinge all the arguments and technical points involved in annulments, and annulment disputes (e.g., one of the most famous, that of Henry VIII). Catholic Canon law regulates the celebration of marriage in canons 1055–1065.

Marriages between Catholics and non-Catholics were historically viewed as “mixed marriage“, and were opposed by the Catholic Church, as they were looked upon as degrading the holy character of matrimony. However, such restrictions were gradually loosened over the past century.

Marriages are often celebrated on Saturdays before nightfall during the spring or summer. According to marriage-related liturgical norms and canon laws, they are usually not celebrated on Sunday (unless it is during the afternoon), and are not generally celebrated on other solemnities or major feast days. They are normally not to be celebrated on Ash Wednesday or during Holy Week from Palm Sunday through Wednesday. They are also discouraged during the final two weeks of Lent and Advent, and are strongly discouraged during the last week of those two seasons and during the eight days that follow Easter and Christmas (their Octaves). They are not celebrated at all during the Easter Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday), during Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day, and on January 1 (St. Mary’s principal feast), and are also not done during the day preceding Christmas Day and the day preceding January

While wedding ceremonies vary, common features of a Jewish wedding include a ketubah (marriage contract) which is signed by two witnesses, a wedding canopy (chuppah or huppah), a ring owned by the groom that is given to the bride under the canopy, and the breaking of a glass.

Technically, the Jewish wedding process has two distinct stages:[1]kiddushin (sanctification or dedication, also called erusin, betrothal in Hebrew) and nissuin (marriage), when the couple start their life together. The first stage prohibits the woman to all other men, requiring a religious divorce (Get) to dissolve, and the final stage permits the couple to each other. The ceremony that accomplishes nisuin is known as chuppah.[2]

Today, erusin/kiddushin occurs when the groom gives the bride a ring or other object of value with the intent of creating a marriage. There are differing opinions as to which part of the ceremony constitutes nissuin/chuppah; they include standing under the canopy – itself called a chuppah – and being alone together in a room (yichud).[2] While historically these two events could take place as much as a year apart,[3]they are now commonly combined into one ceremony

A Hindu wedding is traditionally conducted at least partially in Sanskrit, the language of most holy Hindu ceremonies. The local language of the people involved is also used since most Hindus do not understand Sanskrit. Hindus have many rituals that have evolved since traditional times and differ in many ways from the modern western wedding ceremony and also among the different regions, families, and castes. The Hindus attach a lot of importance to marriages, and the ceremonies are very colourful and extend for several days. Also, outside the participants’ home is decorated with balloons and other decorations.

In India, where most Hindus live, the laws relating to marriage differ by religion. According to the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, passed by the Parliament of India, for all legal purposes, all Hindus of any caste, creed or sect, Sikh, Buddhists and Jains are deemed Hindus and can intermarry. By the Special Marriage Act, 1954, a Hindu can marry a person who is not Hindu, employing any ceremony, provided specified legal conditions are fulfilled.

The pre-wedding ceremonies include engagement (involving vagdana or oral agreement and lagna-patra written declaration), and arrival of the groom’s party at the bride’s residence, often in the form of a formal procession. The post-wedding ceremonies involve welcoming the bride to her new home.

Despite modern Hinduism being largely based on the puja form of the worship of devas as enshrined in the Puranas, a Hindu wedding ceremony at its core is essentially a Vedicyajna (a fire-sacrifice), in which the Aryan deities are invoked in the Indo-Aryan style. It has a deep origin in the ancient ceremony of cementing the bonds of friendship/alliance (even among people of the same sex or people of different species in mythological contexts), although today, it only survives in the context of weddings. The primary witness of a Hindu marriage is the fire-deity (or the Sacred Fire) Agni. By law and tradition no Hindu marriage is deemed complete unless in the presence of the Sacred Fire seven encirclements have been made around it by the bride and the groom together. (In many South Indian Hindu marriages these are not required.)

In a recent verdict of the Sri Akaal Takht Sahib,i.e. a Hukumnama, Anand Karaj can only take place in a Gurudwara. This has raised some controversy, as it seems the only real reason for this is to protect the financial welfare of the Gurudwara. Any Amritdhari (Baptized) sikh may perform the marriage ceremony.

Pakistan passed the Sikh Anand Marriage Act in 2007. A Sikh from anywhere in the world can register his or her marriage there, though the marriage ceremony has to be conducted in the country as it extends the provisions of the law applicable to any Sikh irrespective of his nationality. There had been instances when Sikhs from various countries had got their marriages registered in Pakistan

According to the teachings of the [[Quran] yeah it is correct I will be getting ,married to a muslim man ], a married Muslim couple is equated with clothing. Within this context, both husband and wife are each other’s protector and comforter, just as real garments “show and conceal” the body of human beings. Thus, they are meant “for one another”.[1]

In Islam, Polygyny is allowed with certain restrictions, however Polyandry is not. Even so, the number of Polygynist families amounts to a very small minority with the majority of Muslims practicing monogamy.

Young people are at liberty to express their preferences and state what they are looking for in a prospective partner, it is not the usual practice for them actively to seek a partner for themselves by following modern and western rituals such as “dating”. In many families, parents/elders assist the potential man/woman in finding a partner if needed, but the consent of the man/wife must be given (the decision is up to the potential bride/groom and is not left for the parents/elders to make). A ‘forced’ marriage, where consent has not been given by either the bride or the groom, or is given only under excessive pressure, is a different matter; this would be contrary to the teachings of Islam, and would immediately call into question the validity of the marriage.[2] Arranged marriages are the general custom among Muslims as the best way to find and meet potential husbands or wives within the overall context of the Islamic way of life. It must be remembered however, both men and women have a say when getting married, women holding a bounty of power. If a woman does not approve of a potential groom, she is able to refuse the marriage.